Finally moved and settled and G6PD

I know I haven’t posted in a week. I have actually been very busy here and have been so tired at the end of the day that I just can’t find the energy to post. Anyway, know that I am doing fine here in DC. I have been taking classes all week on transitioning out of the Army. The classes are really for people that are retiring after 20+ years or are getting out after their contracts are up. I already have a job and don’t need most of the training, but it’s good to learn anyway.

Last week I started a post but never finished it, so here it is. This is from last Thursday…

“I finally finished in-processing yesterday. The last thing on the list was a meeting with the Company Commander. He’s a fellow Texan and he also ‘pinned’ me on Friday. So, that’s finally done. It took me about three weeks to get it done.

Yesterday I also had a physical therapy evaluation. I asked to get a little more PT in since I’m here and have a good amount of free time. I figure anything I can do to improve the strength in my right leg and arm is good.

I also had an internal medicine appointment with my PCM today to review the lab results from two weeks ago. They confirmed that I do have a G6PD Deficiency. It really is not a big deal. You can read more about it on Wikipedia and MedlinePlus from NIH. I just can’t take certain drugs or eat certain foods. But I’ve lived for 32 years without a problem (except a brain tumor… ahem) so I think I’ll be okay. But Mirna and her kids need to be tested. And I most likely got it from my mom, so she should be tested too.

I told you yesterday that I’d get you up to speed on my housing issues. As I mentioned before, I have to move out of my nice dorm style room now that I’m an E-7. Just so you know, right now my room has plenty of storage space, 11 drawers to be exact, and plenty of cabinet space. It has a twin bed, walk-in closet, restroom with a stand up shower, kitchenette with a sink, stovetop, microwave and fridge, an iMac (which I don’t use), an LCD HDTV, internet access that I use with my laptop, and a small love seat. The setup is pretty cushy, if you ask me. I have windows that open and HVAC that works really well. Really… a very nice setup! This is for the junior enlisted soldiers.

I called the Malogne House on Monday and spoke to the day manager who has been trying to get me a room in a building they call the Guest House. Well, today she let me know that my room was ready. I went over to check it out and boy was I surprised. It was a much smaller room with a twin bed, very small closet, the HVAC did not work and the room was hot as heck, there were only three drawers for storage ad the best part? It had a shared restroom with the room next door. Okay, so you tell me – who has it better? The juniors on the seniors? Anyway, I went back to tell them that the AC was not working but the manager wasn’t there. I know another SFC who fought tooth and nail against moving out of here, but he lost. I know I’m not going to win that battle either, so I’m going to at least fight for a decent room. I’ll let you know how it goes. Maybe I’ll post pics soon so that you can see the difference yourself.”

Okay, that was last Thursday. Well, last Friday Tamra once again helped me move into my new room. I am now staying in a building called Delano Hall. It’s just okay. The room is definitely smaller, but it has a full size bed, mini fridge, mini microwave, an iMac (that I don’t use), an LCD HDTV (which I do use) and it has enough storage space. And the best thing? The AC works! I do share a bathroom with someone, but there are locks so that neither of us can intrude on the other. He’s a little loud and has all kinds of crap all over the sink and lots or protein drink mix everywhere. But I have never seen the guy. I imagine him as a huge guy that could probably squash me like a bug. I hope I never find out.

So far it has been pretty quiet here, but tonight some jeep has been sitting in the parking lot (which my window faces) with its music all turned up. It has been there for the past half an hour with the engine running. I think I just heard the doors close. Oh good… he just left. Now I can go to sleep.

Moved In... Sorta'

Thursday was a very busy day for me. I had to go to the office to finally turn in my badge, turn in some keys, take care of some paperwork, but most importantly... sign and get a copy of my NCOER!!! The ordeal is over! It took a few weeks, but I finally got it in - and it was a pretty good review. But it took so long to get everything done that someone had to drive me to WRAMC for my 1530 doctor apointment (Thanks for the ride Alan - and thank God for that GPS!) I made it to the doctor appointment and it went well. My new PCM is on the ball and should be easy to work with over the next few months. Earlier this week I got a call from a nurse at the clinic at Fort Belvoir - she told me that a test they did on my blood last week came up positive for G6PD deficiency. I'm not going to go into detail about what is now because when I told the doctor he thought it would be a good idea to run the test again to make sure they got it right. He's also going to check my liver enzymes to make sure they're at a decent level. I went down to the lab, they took my blood, and I was off to my apartment to pack. I also finally talked to my Neurologist and we talked about my EEG results. We had a bad connection, so at first I thought he said that they were wildly abnormal... I was confused! But it turns out that he said they were mildly abnormal. He didn't see any epiliptic activity and said that the results were in line for what would be seen in a post brain surgery patient. So, basically nothing to worry about right now. We just need to see how this new drug works over time.

I'm learning how to get to and from WRAMC using the metro system. Buses run pretty frequently on two streets at the front and back of the post. I take a bus to the Silver Spring metro station and then take the red line to Metro Center and transfer to the orange or blue line to get to where most of my friends live. Total time during rush hour is about an hour. I'm guessing that off peak it will take about an hour and a half. I don't think it's too bad - the fact that I can even get around this easily is amazing.

I went home and started packing. A few friends from my new Tuesday night Community Group from church came over to help and after a while we got hungry, so we went to Cafe Asia to eat (I love their food!) They all went home and I continued to pack. With an end in sight I kept at it until 3am when basically everything was pretty much ready to go.

This morning Tamra came over and we got everything loaded into her car and made the trek over to WRAMC. When we got there we had a hard time figuring out where to park to offload the goods. A young Private agreed to watch the car while we unloaded in the circle drive and took everything up. When we finally got everything up to my room on the third floor, my key wouldn't work on the door. Tamra went down to park the car and I went down to the S-4 office to see what was wrong. They told me to call the guy that assigned me the room. I called the SSG that assigned me the room and he said I needed to call S-4. Not so fast! No passing the buck here... he told me to meet him at the S-4 office. It turned out that since I didn't put anything in the room, when they did a walk-through of the rooms, my room was empty, so they assigned it to someone else. Now, this may sound like a Charlie Foxtrot to you, but this is par for the course for an Army operation. Anyway, several phone calls were made, rooms were looked at and by the time we were sure I could have a room on the second floor, two hours had elapsed.

The room is decent. Each room has a walk-in closet, tile floors, a bathroom with a stand up shower, a kitchenette with a small stove, fridge, microwave and sink. There is also a plasma TV and an iMac in each room. The room wasn't exactly clean and the furniture wasn't placed very well, so we methodically moved furniture around, swept and mopped the floor underneath and put it all in new places. It took us quite a bit of time to get everything wiped down and cleaned up. We basically got it to a state where Tamra could take all her cleaning stuff home and I could finish up any odds and ends when I get back on Sunday. It was getting late in the afternoon, so I packed up some clothes for the weekend and we headed out. John, Tamra, Zach, Amanda and I had a nice dinner at Ray's the Steaks between Rosslyn and Court House and then we hung out at John and Tamra's for a bit. Now I'm at Amanda's for the weekend. She graciously offered their spare bedroom to me and I gladly accepted.

Tomorrow we're working on fixing up a run down house in Alexandria and then rest in the afternoon. I feel like I have a lot to do in my room still and that's occupying my thoughts. Amanda offered me some towels and bedsheets that I can use while I'm here. I have towels, but they're thirteen year old brown Army towels. And they gave me bed linens, but they're not fitted and not comfy. Thanks Amanda! I just need to unpack and get everything put away so that it feels like a home away from home. After that, I'll be happy. Please pray for a smooth move-in!